It’s been an unusually long wait for Zombieland 2, and part of you has to wonder if the public demand is still there for a follow-up to the original 2009 hit, but if there’s just one moment from the first Zombieland that’s proven to have genuine staying power in our pop culture, it’s the Bill Murray cameo. And according to a new report, the upcoming sequel will include a callback to this sequence that aspires to do one better.
Bloody Disgusting relays the unverified claim that not only will Murray come back for Zombieland 2, but that he’s also set to reunite with his Ghostbusters co-star Dan Aykroyd. For those who don’t recall, Murray made a quick appearance playing a fictional version of himself in the first movie, but is accidentally killed in a practical joke gone wrong. The question is therefore raised of how the sequel could bring back the actor ten years later, but if the first film can include a few flashbacks, then surely the follow-up can find a way to make this happen.
Incidentally, there’s also the possibility that Murray and Aykroyd will reunite in the planned Ghostbusters 3, with the latter mentioning last month that he believes his old co-star will come back for the long-awaited threequel after the two of them cameoed in separate scenes in the 2016 reboot.
As for the pair’s rumored appearances in Zombieland 2, part of the appeal of Murray’s role in the first movie was the element of surprise, creating a feeling of gleeful absurdity around his cameo. For this next film, that novelty will have largely worn off, but perhaps writers Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese might still have the wit to make it work. In any case, we’ll find out what familiar faces the sequel has lined up when the movie hits theaters on October 11th, 2019.